California State University Northridge Athletics
Tuesday, May 17
Northridge, CA
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Pepperdine
Photo by: CSUN Athletics
Matadors Host Pepperdine in Final Home Game of the Season
5/16/2016 12:19:00 PM | Baseball
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NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Baseball (31-16) takes on the Pepperdine Waves (25-21) on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Matadors' final home game of the 2016 season. A live audio broadcast of the game will be available on the CSUN Sports Network with Brandon Marcus calling all the action from Matador Field.Â
The Matadors come into the midweek contest with a six-game winning streak after sweeping their second-straight Big West Conference series last weekend. CSUN defeated the UC Davis Aggies in three-straight close games at home to improve to 10-11 in Big West play. In the series opener, the Matadors used a three-run seventh inning to rally and upend the Aggies, 5-4, and led from start to finish in the next two games. CSUN built an 8-0 lead in game two, only to see UC Davis rally to trim the deficit to three in the ninth. In the end, Matadors would hold for an 11-8 victory to claim the series. On Sunday, CSUN scored two runs in the second and third innings while the Matador pitching staff held the Aggies to five hits in a 4-2 triumph.Â
Branden Berry, Justin Toerner and Dylan Alexander each had five hits in the series while Bobby Schuman led the team with five RBI in his return to the starting lineup. Berry also finished with three runs batted in, a home run and two doubles. Andrew Weston and Kenny Rosenberg each earned wins in the series to improve their win totals to seven and five respectively. Out of the bullpen, Conner O'Neil tossed four shutout innings and earned two multiple-inning saves to improve his season total to 10.Â
The Matadors earned their 21st home victory of the season on Sunday, which is the most by a CSUN team since 2001. In the Division I era, only four Matadors teams have won more home games than the 2016 team. With 26 victories at Matador Field, both the 1996 and 1998 teams own the most wins at home in school history.Â
Fred Smith leads the Matadors in hitting heading into the weekend as he is batting .327 at the plate with 32 runs scored and 19 RBI. Smith's 67 hits on the season is one hit shy of Big West leader Keston Hiura. Top run producer, Berry is first in the conference in home runs (9), second in RBI (40) and third in slugging percentage (.546). Berry is also first on the Matadors in doubles with 12 and second in batting with a .310 average. During the six-game winning streak, Alexander has picked up his offensive production, batting .450 with four RBI and three doubles. On the season, Alexander is hitting .281 with 23 walks and 11 RBI.Â
Senior Rayne Raven gets the start in his final game played at Matador Field. On the season, Raven is 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA over 12 appearances and seven starts while he has fanned 30 in 36.1 innings. The start is Raven's first since facing Cal State Fullerton on April 3. Raven heads into the start with a career 2.78 ERA, which is the ninth lowest in team history.
Following Tuesday's contest, the Matadors will hit the road for their final seven games of the regular season. CSUN travels to West Lafayette, IN, to take on Purdue in a non-conference four-game set beginning on Thursday and the team wraps up the regular season with a three-game Big West series at UC Irvine from May 26-28.Â
Pepperdine leads the all-time series with CSUN, 42-41-1, but the Matadors have won the last three meetings. CSUN earned a 3-0 road victory at Pepperdine in February behind home runs from Berry and Albee Weiss. In the team's last meeting at Matador Field, CSUN earned a 4-3 victory in March 2015.Â
A Closer Look at Pepperdine
The Waves are 25-21 on the season and 8-11 on the road. Pepperdine is coming off a series win at Saint Mary's last weekend to improve to 14-10 in West Coast Conference play. In the first two games of their series with the Gaels, Pepperdine posted 10-1 and 3-1 victories before falling in the series finale, 6-4, which snapped a five-game winning streak. The Waves sit in fourth-place in the conference standings heading into their final weekend series of the regular season against Pacific.Â
Leading the team in batting, freshman Matthew Kanfer is hitting .312 at the dish to go along with 26 runs scored, 26 RBI and two home runs. Junior Manny Jefferson is second in the WCC in home runs with 11 while he is batting .295 with 31 runs scored and 35 RBI. As a team, the Waves' 40 home runs are the second most in the West Coast Conference. Freshman left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas is scheduled to face CSUN for the second time this season. Lucas (2-4) comes into the Tuesday start with a 5.10 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. On February 23 against CSUN, Lucas gave up one run in 4.2 innings and he racked up six strikeouts in a losing effort.Â
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Baseball (31-16) takes on the Pepperdine Waves (25-21) on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Matadors' final home game of the 2016 season. A live audio broadcast of the game will be available on the CSUN Sports Network with Brandon Marcus calling all the action from Matador Field.Â
The Matadors come into the midweek contest with a six-game winning streak after sweeping their second-straight Big West Conference series last weekend. CSUN defeated the UC Davis Aggies in three-straight close games at home to improve to 10-11 in Big West play. In the series opener, the Matadors used a three-run seventh inning to rally and upend the Aggies, 5-4, and led from start to finish in the next two games. CSUN built an 8-0 lead in game two, only to see UC Davis rally to trim the deficit to three in the ninth. In the end, Matadors would hold for an 11-8 victory to claim the series. On Sunday, CSUN scored two runs in the second and third innings while the Matador pitching staff held the Aggies to five hits in a 4-2 triumph.Â
Branden Berry, Justin Toerner and Dylan Alexander each had five hits in the series while Bobby Schuman led the team with five RBI in his return to the starting lineup. Berry also finished with three runs batted in, a home run and two doubles. Andrew Weston and Kenny Rosenberg each earned wins in the series to improve their win totals to seven and five respectively. Out of the bullpen, Conner O'Neil tossed four shutout innings and earned two multiple-inning saves to improve his season total to 10.Â
The Matadors earned their 21st home victory of the season on Sunday, which is the most by a CSUN team since 2001. In the Division I era, only four Matadors teams have won more home games than the 2016 team. With 26 victories at Matador Field, both the 1996 and 1998 teams own the most wins at home in school history.Â
Fred Smith leads the Matadors in hitting heading into the weekend as he is batting .327 at the plate with 32 runs scored and 19 RBI. Smith's 67 hits on the season is one hit shy of Big West leader Keston Hiura. Top run producer, Berry is first in the conference in home runs (9), second in RBI (40) and third in slugging percentage (.546). Berry is also first on the Matadors in doubles with 12 and second in batting with a .310 average. During the six-game winning streak, Alexander has picked up his offensive production, batting .450 with four RBI and three doubles. On the season, Alexander is hitting .281 with 23 walks and 11 RBI.Â
Senior Rayne Raven gets the start in his final game played at Matador Field. On the season, Raven is 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA over 12 appearances and seven starts while he has fanned 30 in 36.1 innings. The start is Raven's first since facing Cal State Fullerton on April 3. Raven heads into the start with a career 2.78 ERA, which is the ninth lowest in team history.
Following Tuesday's contest, the Matadors will hit the road for their final seven games of the regular season. CSUN travels to West Lafayette, IN, to take on Purdue in a non-conference four-game set beginning on Thursday and the team wraps up the regular season with a three-game Big West series at UC Irvine from May 26-28.Â
Pepperdine leads the all-time series with CSUN, 42-41-1, but the Matadors have won the last three meetings. CSUN earned a 3-0 road victory at Pepperdine in February behind home runs from Berry and Albee Weiss. In the team's last meeting at Matador Field, CSUN earned a 4-3 victory in March 2015.Â
A Closer Look at Pepperdine
The Waves are 25-21 on the season and 8-11 on the road. Pepperdine is coming off a series win at Saint Mary's last weekend to improve to 14-10 in West Coast Conference play. In the first two games of their series with the Gaels, Pepperdine posted 10-1 and 3-1 victories before falling in the series finale, 6-4, which snapped a five-game winning streak. The Waves sit in fourth-place in the conference standings heading into their final weekend series of the regular season against Pacific.Â
Leading the team in batting, freshman Matthew Kanfer is hitting .312 at the dish to go along with 26 runs scored, 26 RBI and two home runs. Junior Manny Jefferson is second in the WCC in home runs with 11 while he is batting .295 with 31 runs scored and 35 RBI. As a team, the Waves' 40 home runs are the second most in the West Coast Conference. Freshman left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas is scheduled to face CSUN for the second time this season. Lucas (2-4) comes into the Tuesday start with a 5.10 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. On February 23 against CSUN, Lucas gave up one run in 4.2 innings and he racked up six strikeouts in a losing effort.Â
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